As at other times in his life, the circumstances surrounding Stephen’s disappearance meant he lost control of his own actions – according to his old comedy partner Hugh Laurie.

He said: ‘I think it was one of the moments where [Stephen] ceased to become the driver of his own vehicle.’

For the tribute programme, Hugh – who played the Wooster to Stephen’s Jeeves – joined many friends and collaborators to sing the former QI host’s praises.

Hugh explained: ‘He had a tremendous sort of gravity even at that age of 20. He seemed like a 60 year-old at the age of 20. He wore tweed and I think stiff collars and smoked a pipe. I mean, ludicrously affected!’

Jeeves And Wooster is one of Fry and Laurie’s best-loved shows (Picture: BBC)

He added: ‘We realised that we made each other laugh a lot, I mean we laughed just dawn ‘til dusk. I’m not even sure if we stopped at dusk. We might even have gone on after dusk.’

As well as his many projects with Hugh, Stephen has enjoyed many TV and film roles, and even played his hero Oscar Wilde in 1997 movie Wilde.

But according to QI producer John Lloyd, the job Stephen was ‘born to do’ was hosting the brainy quiz show – though he was not originally supposed to.

Stephen in his early days on QI with Alan Davies, Liza Tarbuck, Sean Lock and Phil Jupitus (Picture: Brian J. Ritchie/TalkbackTha/REX/Shutterstock)

John explained: ‘Stephen wasn’t designed as the host of QI. He was meant to be captain of the clever team, with Alan Davies as captain of the ignorant team and nice Michael Palin in the middle.

‘When Mike turned it down because he didn’t think he was “clever enough” and because he was tired after spending months in the Sahara, I honestly thought that was the end of the programme. I thought that it wouldn’t work if it wasn’t like that. So I begged Stephen even if he would stand in just for the pilot.

‘Within five minutes of starting the show, you could see this was the job he was born to do.’

In 1997 Stephen played one of his biggest heroes Oscar Wilde (Picture: BBC2)

Now Stephen has quit QI, and his co-star Alan Davies claims his departure was prompted by the increasingly ‘tough’ shooting schedule.

He said: ‘I was saddened but not surprised really. I felt in recent years it’s been a bit of a squeeze on the show and we have to compact the recordings. We have to do three shows in a 24-hour period each week and it’s pretty tough going.’

Stephen Fry on...

On leaving QI:
‘I’m leaving QI, because really I honestly think 13 years is enough. It’s been incredibly good fun and I wouldn’t want to feel stale or for it to go sour on me in that sort of way, or for me to feel like I’m treading water or repeating myself.’

On playing his hero, Oscar Wilde in the 1997 film Wilde:
‘One of the greatest good fortunes I’ve had in my life was to be able to connect to the greatest heroes of my life – Oscar Wilde, who meant everything to me, who opened the doors of language to me and then, of course, made me examine the nature of my own sexuality and allowed me to be proud of it. He was an incredible man who never ceases to astonish me.’

On Sandi Toksvig taking over as host of QI:
‘Sandi Toksvig couldn’t be a better choice so I’m very happy for the show to go on without me really and find other things to do.’

On his relationship with Hugh Laurie: ‘It was an act of creative falling in love. Comically falling in love. A genuine connection. The tragedy of it is, he went to America and got a job in a hospital, as a porter or something and now busks for a living. It’s such a pity, because he is actually pretty talented.’